Ashes of Deception
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"This is the 9-1-1 operator. Is this Dr. Hardy?" "Yeah." "We need a coroner at Eastland Creek." It was 9:55 on a Monday night. "Okay. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes," Dr. Hardy stated. At least it wasn't in the wee hours and the scene was only four miles away. The October night was not harsh, still mild with no percipitation or wind. Since Eastland Creek had no overnight camping, this had to be a drowning, probably a bass fisherman. The tell tale red and blue lights summoned him from the gravelled park entrance road. The lights weren't by the boat ramp, however, but rather were up beside the picnic area. An inquisitive Dr. Hardy approached the assembly. "I thought for sure this would be a floater." "Well, technically, it is," said Bruce Duffer, who was once again the on-scene investigator. Dr. Hardy scanned the surrounding area. No body was visible. The only structure nearby was the outhouse-type toilet. "They're not on the john, are they?" asked Hardy. "No," answered Duffer, as a deputy passed him a long aluminum pole with a hook on the end. "They're IN the john!" They walked over to the outhouse, and Duffer shined a flashlight down the toilet pit. Hardy saw a fleshy mound bobbing above the surface of the sewage. "My God!" exclaimed Hardy. "They must call you for the worst cases!" . . . . . . . . . The skin was thickened and leather-like on the chil's torso. The color was manilla. Dr. Hardy thought the child might be Caucassian, the skin stained from feces, or light skinned black, the skin bleached by the sewage chemicals. Or, most likely, the deceased was Hispanic or Asian. The septic enzymes had eaten away the fingers and toes, bone and tendon stumps protruded from the hands and feet. The body lay supine, and the skin of the crotch was eroded, with no genital structures remaining. Hardy was taken aback. This was his first sexless corpse. No fingers for prints, no definite race, not even a sex. What could he do to help with this case?
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About the Book
As Dr. Obie Hardy, family physician and part-time medical examiner, travels down a rural Virginia road, he thinks he is about to investigate another routine death. But, as he pulls up next to a mobile home, he discovers there is nothing ordinary about the case at all. Mohammed and Anne Thacker are dead—the victims of a murder-suicide apparently fueled by drugs.
Dr. Hardy moves from one death scene to another, and he and county deputies uncover links between the victims, eventually exposing a web of corruption that leads Detective Bruce Duffer to target local cocaine dealer Skeeter Richards, who is quickly expanding his territory. Meanwhile, Dale Gregory, a local contractor, is struggling with his wife’s adulterous, narcissistic lifestyle. On the verge of financial ruin, Dale has no idea that his wife is planning his murder. Even so, she seems surprised when his remains are identified in the ashes of a suspicious house fire.
As Duffer and Dr. Hardy are propelled into a dangerous investigation with an outcome no one anticipates, the pair must rely on their instincts and a string of puzzling clues as they attempt to capture a killer before he strikes again.
About the Author
Dr. Willoughby Hundley was trained at Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical college and now works as an emergency medicine physician. His first book, M-81 Emerging Doctors, gives insight into medical school training, while Ashes of Deception draws on his experiences as a local medical examiner. He lives in his hometown of Boydton, Virginia, with his wife, Lucy, and their dog.